Vapor-dispensing device

ABSTRACT

An insecticide or deodorant vapor dispenser comprised of a sheet formed with separate wick and fluid receiving depressions with restricted communication therebetween and a flat sheet secured to the formed sheet to enclose the depressions, with a portion of such sheets removable for exposing a portion of the wick for dispensing the fluid vapors.

11 ited States Patent [72] Inventor Richard E. Goodman 1053 Roscomare, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024 [21] Appl. No. 835,669 [22] Filed June 23, 1969 [45] Patented Oct. 19, 1971 [54] VAPOR-DISPENSING DEVICE 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 239/44, 222/541 [51] Int. Cl A611 9/04 [50] Field of Search 222/187, 541;239/44,49,50,51.5,43

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,135,124 4/1915 Maas 239/44 Beechman 1,818,684 8/1931 239 44 x 2,111,025 3 1938 Galler 239 44 FOREIGN PATENTS 955,621 7 1949 France 239 44 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Frederick R. Handren Att0rneyLyon & Lyon ABSTRACT: An insecticide or deodorant vapor dispenser comprised of a sheet formed with separate wick and fluid receiving depressions with restricted communication therebetween and a flat sheet secured to the formed sheet to enclose the depressions, with a portion of such sheets removable for exposing a portion of the wick for dispensing the fluid vapors.

PATENTEDnm 19 sen INVENTOR.

5/64/ 160 6. GOODMAN A770N6V5 VAPOR-DISPENSING DEVICE This invention relates to wick-type dispensers of volatile fluids such as room deodorants and insecticides and, in particular, is directed to a unique construction of such a device.

There are a variety of products and devices for slowly dispensing a vapor in a room or space for accomplishing any particular desired purpose. One example is a room deodorizer for dispelling obnoxious odors and these have been in the form of both the liquid container and wick dispenser type as well as the more recent aerosol spray type. While aerosol dispensers are effective for a short period of time, they are both expensive and fail to provide continuous deodorizing. The conventional liquid container and wick-type dispenser has the advantage of giving continuous deodorizing but has a number of disadvantages such as being spilled or wasted if the container is broken or becomes inverted, being extremely heavy for shipping purposes, and being costly to produce.

Another example of a home and commercially used vapordispensing product is mothballs or cakes which vaporize over an extended period of time to prevent the intrusion of moths and other insects into a given space. While conventional mothballs or cakes have the advantages of not being susceptible to spillage or an excessive rate of vaporization, the compound comprising mothballs and cakes is disproportionately expensive, both in the cost of material and shipping charges, in comparison with the cost of the active ingredients contained in the product. Moreover, the nature of the solid product which sublimes at a controlled rate is that it has an inherent undesirable odor and restricts or prevents the use of other ingredients for deodorizing or air freshening which might otherwise be desirable.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel form of passive or wick-type vapor dispenser wherein a sheet is formed with separate but communicating depressions for receiving the wick and volatile fluid and a flat sheet is secured to the first sheet to enclose the depressions and with means for selectively exposing a portion of the wick.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel form of wick-type vapor dispenser wherein the wick is permanently mounted and positioned in communication with the volatile fluid and the dispenser is activated by removing a tab covering a portion of the wick.

Still another object is to provide a novel form of container for a vapor dispenser comprising a vacuum-formed sheet plastic with depressions for receiving the fluid and a wick with a coextensive flat sheet adhered to the formed sheet for enclosing the depressions to form separate but communicating compartments.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel form of wick-type vapor dispensing device wherein the wick completely fills the only passage between the fluid and the exterior of the device and the wick is of sufficient density to prevent free liquid flow therethrough. A still further object of this invention is to provide such a device wherein the sole communication between the wick and the fluid compartment is at the very base of the fluid compartment remote from the exposed end of the wick thereby inversion of the device completely prevents communication of the wick with the fluid to avoid spillage.

Other and more detailed objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view of one embodiment of the dispenser of this invention with portions of the closure sheet broken away to illustrate the interior of the device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2 2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 in FIG. I and illustrating the communication between the fluid and wick compartments.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wick for use in the embodiment of FIG. I.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and illustrating the removable portion of enclosure sheet for exposing the wick for use.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the device of this invention without the wick and fluid but illustrating a portion of the closure sheet.

FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 6 with portions shown in section at the longitudinal center of the device.

Referring now to the embodiment of this invention illustrated in FIGS. I-5, the vapor dispenser device, generally designated I0, includes a formed sheet I1 and a closure sheet I2 which combine to form the various compartments and passageways of the device. The formed sheet 11 may be of any convenient material and preformed by any appropriate process but it is preferred to use a thermoplastic which is relatively stiff for structural integrity but not so rigid as to be fragile. Further, for convenience of manufacture, it is preferred that a material be used that may be conveniently vacuum formed in the conventional manner to produce the desired shape. The sheet II is formed with a pair of spaced, depression-forming reservoirs 13 with ashallow depression 14 positioned between the reservoir depressions. Encircling each of the reservoirs I3 and the depression 14 the sheet 11 has a peripheral surface 15 in a common plane interrupted only at the small depressions 16 connecting the bottom of the reservoir depressions 113 with the depression 14.

For controlled vapor dispensing, a wick 17 is mounted in the shallow depression 141 and completely fills the depression. The wick I7 is of any convenient material that will pass a fluid therethrough by capillary action, such as a flat material but which is of a sufficient density to prevent the pouring or leaking of fluid therethrough upon inverting the device. The specific material selected for wick I7 will depend on such factors as the nature of fluid to be used in the device and the desired rate of vaporization.

To assemble the device the wick I7 is positioned in depression I4 and the desired amount of fluid is placed in reservoirs I3 before the closure sheet 12 is secured to the preformed sheet II. The closure sheet 12 is substantially flat and may be of any convenient material such as a thermoplastic or metal foil. For convenience of manufacture it is preferred that the closure sheet I2 be secured to the formed sheet II along the entire peripheral surface 15 by a heat seal although it will readily appear to those skilled in the art that an adhesive or other securing means may be used. For convenience the sheet II may also be formed with a hook 21 for supporting the device, such as on a clothes closet pole.

With closure sheet 112 secured in place it will be seen that the two reservoirs I3 are separated from the wick I7 and the only fluid passageways from the reservoirs are formed solely by shallow depressions I6 at the base of the reservoirs and wick. The upper end I8 of the wick may be exposed for using the device by removing the closure tab 19 which, as shown in FIG. 5, may be a portion of closure sheet 12 scored or partially severed along the line 20 for ease of removing the tab. Since the fluid must travel the length of the wick 17 to escape from the end I8 it may be seen that the fluid will not readily escape from the device upon intentional or accidental inversion. Moreover since the only communication between the fluid reservoirs I3 and the wick I7 is through the passageways formed by depressions I6, no fluid will reach the wick 17 upon completely inverting the device once there is any air or vapor in the reservoirs I3.

The embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 is similar in many respects to the aforedescribed embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 and this device 10a functions in a substantially identical manner. Again a formed sheet Ma and a closure sheet I212 combine to form the desired compartments and the same materials and manufacturing processes may be used as previously described. In this embodiment a single fluid reservoir depression is formed throughout the length of the device with only a short wick depression 14a formed in the base of the device. Again the plane peripheral surface I5a is formed to surround the reservoir Ba and wick depression 14a and is interrupted only by the small depressions 16a at the base of the reservoir and wick depressions. The wick I7a fills the depression 14a and Since a substantial head of fluid extends above the top end 18a 7 of wick 1711 the material of wick 170 will be substantially less porous and permeable than that which would be used for wick 17 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 for the same fluid and desired rate of vaporization. In the embodiment of P108. 6 and 7 a tab portion 19a is provided adjacent an aperture 22 in sheet lla at the top of the wick depression 14a and may be removed for exposing the top end 18a of the wick when putting the device into use.

It will readily appear to those skilled in the art that a variety of forms and shapes of devices may be constructed embodying this invention in addition to the two forms shown in the drawings whereby a convenient and inexpensive vapor dispenser is readily formed. The type of materials that may be used in this device is unrestricted by its form of construction but rather it permits the use of virtually any material. It is specifically contemplated that a liquid insecticide for repelling moths will be an extremely practical application for this device in that the rate of vapor dispensing can be controlled to a very slow rate and there is no possibility of spillage of the liquid onto clothing. Moreover by using a clear plastic for one or both of the sheets 11 and 12 the level of fluid in reservoirs 13 may be readily observed and the device replaced when the fluid is spent.

I claim:

1. In a vapor dispenser, the combination of: a formed sheet having at least one reservoir depression and a wick depression formed from one side of said sheet, said sheet having a plane peripheral surface on said one side surrounding said reservoir and wick depressions, a liquid of the desired vapor in said reservoir depression, a wick positioned in said wick depression and in communication with said liquid, a flat sheet mounted on said one side of the formed sheet and secured to said plane peripheral surface to enclose said depressions for retaining said liquid and wick, and means for selectively exposing a portion of said wick for dispensing vapor.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the said communication between said wick and liquid is by means of a shallow depression in said formed sheet between said wick depression and each reservoir depression.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said wick and reservoir depressions are positioned side by side and extend vertically, and said shallow depression is located at the bottom of said wick and reservoir depressions.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein there are two said reservoir depressions with said wick depression therebetween, and a said shallow depression is positioned on each side of said wick depression.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said wick completely fills said wick depression for preventing liquid flow through the wick depression in bypass relation with the wick.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one ofsaid sheets is of sufficient transparency for observing the liquid level in said reservoir depression.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said formed sheet is comprised of a thermoplastic material vacuum formed with said depressions, and said flat sheet is sealed to said surface of the formed sheet.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein said wick exposing means comprises a removable portion of one of said sheets.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said liquid is a moth repellent and insecticide.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein said formed sheet is formed from a sheet of thin and stiffly flexible material, and said depressions are shallow relative to their width and length for ease of forming thereof. 

1. In a vapor dispenser, the combination of: a formed sheet having at least one reservoir depression and a wick depression formed from one side of said sheet, said sheet having a plane peripheral surface on said one side surrounding said reservoir and wick depressions, a liquid of the desired vapor in said reservoir depression, a wick positioned in said wick depression and in communication with said liquid, a flat sheet mounted on said one side of the formed sheet and secured to said plane peripheral surface to enclose said depressions for retaining said liquid and wick, and means for selectively exposing a portion of said wick for dispensing vapor.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the said communication between said wick and liquid is by means of a shallow depression in said formed sheet between said wick depression and each reservoir depression.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein said wick and reservoir depressions are positioned side by side and extend vertically, and said shallow depreSsion is located at the bottom of said wick and reservoir depressions.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein there are two said reservoir depressions with said wick depression therebetween, and a said shallow depression is positioned on each side of said wick depression.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein said wick completely fills said wick depression for preventing liquid flow through the wick depression in bypass relation with the wick.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one of said sheets is of sufficient transparency for observing the liquid level in said reservoir depression.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein said formed sheet is comprised of a thermoplastic material vacuum formed with said depressions, and said flat sheet is sealed to said surface of the formed sheet.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein said wick exposing means comprises a removable portion of one of said sheets.
 9. The device of claim 1 wherein said liquid is a moth repellent and insecticide.
 10. The device of claim 1 wherein said formed sheet is formed from a sheet of thin and stiffly flexible material, and said depressions are shallow relative to their width and length for ease of forming thereof. 